Xiaomi has started rolling out the stable ROM of its MIUI 8 globally. Xiaomi MIUI 8 was first announced in India almost two months back and the over-the-air update will reach user devices progressively.

Dual apps: With MIUI 8, Xiaomi smartphone users can have two instances of any app on their phone that correspond to different accounts. The feature is not new to forked Android ROMs but its definitely new to MIUI. With Dual apps, users can now have two WhatsApp accounts or two Facebook accounts on the same device.

Second space: Xiaomi calls it the next level of “Dual apps” technology. With second space, Xiaomi is taking individual user experience to a whole new level. With MIUI 8, Xiaomi users can enable two smartphone instances on the same device. Using a different lockscreen password or fingerprint, users can set up two entirely different home screens, with different apps, separate user data and independent photo storage. Coolpad Max has a similar feature.

Scrolling screenshots: Xiaomi has taken a page out of Vivo’s FonTouch OS with this feature. MIUI 8 introduces an ability to take multi-screen scrolling screenshots and editing them further, which is very useful for sharing long articles in just one image.

Photo gallery: Xiaomi MIUI 8 comes with several optimisations such as quick share controls where users can swipe up to share and change filters with a tap. MIUI has been known for such futuristic interactions and MIUI 8 makes it even more accessible. MIUI 8 users can also doodle on photos and make use of a native video editor with various effects and music.

T9 dialer with Hindi search: MIUI 8 will support T9 Hindi search on the dialer. The feature will allow users to search more than 1000 public numbers of the most popular businesses in India, automatically bringing up the number to make outgoing calls.

Improved SMS recharge service: Xiaomi India has announced a new partnership with Mobikwik to streamline the SMS recharge service for MIUI users. When users receive a message from their telecom or DTH service provider informing them of a low balance, it will provide an automatic option of ‘Recharge Now’. New users will get a special 50% cashback on their first Mobikwik recharge and existing Mobikwik customers will get a 10% cashback on their first recharge every month.